


Burning Petals 「火花」

by Nellancholy



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games), 閃乱カグラ | Senran Kagura
Genre: Angst, F/F, because of course it's angst, modifying a demolition charge into a fireworks display and detonating it to eulogize your gf?, pretty awesome move, the first part takes place just before yumiko is recruited into rainbow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-05 23:10:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13398252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellancholy/pseuds/Nellancholy
Summary: Fireworks always burn brightest just before they fade.





	Burning Petals 「火花」

The view from the beach on this mysterious,extradimensional festival island was nothing much to look at,at least at night. Endless dark sea beneath a sparsely-lit,moonless sky started looking the same no matter where you turned,after a while.

 

But Yumiko didn’t mind so much. She reached over to Hanabi ,who was sitting on a barstool from the presently-closed beach house,giving her waist a little squeeze. Yumiko’s eyes rested on the large cherry bomb that Hanabi had rolled onto the beach about 15 minutes ago,but she thought no further on it.

 

The quiet atmosphere punctuated by waves lapping against the shore was nice,but Yumiko decided to speak up. “I…miss chances to relax like this. Work is…work,but this is good too,you know?” While the paperwork was getting shuffled around for her…transfer,she’d taken the opportunity to come to this island and see Hanabi again.

 

Hanabi let out a soft sound that resembled a purr,nuzzling up against Yumiko’s shoulder. “I…really missed you,Yumi-chan…and now you’re gonna leave again…” Time did flow differently on this island,but no one could stay forever.

 

Yumiko gave a contented sigh,shaking her head. “Don’t be sad,okay? I enjoy being with you. I enjoy the time we share together. But this is a great opportunity for me. Besides…I’ll come back when I can. It won’t be goodbye for us. Not for a long,long time…” Every time she deployed,there was a chance of her not coming back. She’d lost allies before,and every loss drove her to push herself harder,to be a little bit faster,more precise,so everyone under her command could come home safe. But it wasn’t just her. The life of a shinobi was fraught with peril and loss as well. That was the reason this whole island existed. Yumiko could hardly imagine what Hanabi might have already seen,already gone through,the energetic girl rarely gave away any sign of vulnerability or fear. It certainly felt like Yumiko was the only person Hanabi could be more mellow around.

 

Of course,just when Yumiko thought that,Hanabi jumped to her feet. “Well then! Since Yumi-chan is going to be leaving tomorrow,my present is even more important now! Come on!” Grabbing hold of Yumiko’s arm,Hanabi sprinted over to where the cherry bomb sat. Without a moment’s pause,Hanabi pulled a match from inside her jacket,striking it to light the fuse. She took only a step back to stand next to Yumiko,bouncing on her heels like a little girl as the fuse ran down.

 

And then it went up. A blazing ball of light shot into the sky,bursting into a swirling,five-pronged star of light that seemed to almost fill the empty night sky,undulating like a nebula that was about to coalesce into a star.

 

Yumiko blinked,a smile forming on her face as she put her arm around Hanabi’s waist again. “That’s…beautiful.” She turned her head,planting a quick kiss on Hanabi’s lips. “Not sure I could ever top that…”

 

“ _Don’t have to…_ ”

 

“Huh?” Maybe Yumiko was still a little deaf from the explosion,or maybe she’d managed to get lost in thought,but she couldn’t quite catch Hanabi’s surprisingly meek voice.

 

“I said! You don’t HAVE to! I…I just want Yumi-chan to come back safe,okay?! That’s…all I want.”

 

At that,Yumiko turned,wrapping her other arm around Hanabi to pull them both firmly together. “I…promise,okay? I’ve always come back before.”

 

“ _And I’m not gonna leave you alone this time,either_.” 

* * *

 

“Killed in action.”

 

Those military types were always so…cold in their descriptions. Even shinobi were not so callous towards the loss of one of their own.

 

At least she got to be buried here,beneath the soil near which she was born.

 

The reality of it all had sunk in. Even if Hanabi lived to see the next Kagura Millennium Festival,she would never hear Yumiko’s voice again. Never see her smile again. Never feel her arms around her again.

 

So she pulled her jacket tight around herself,looking silently over the gravestone.

 

The gravestone that belonged to Hibana-

 

No,to Imagawa Yumiko.

 

Hanabi’s two sisters leaned on her on either side,Renka wrapping her arm around Hanabi’s shoulder,Kafuru clinging to Hanabi’s arm. Even Kafuru’s usually sharp tongue was silent this time.

 

Hanabi reached into her jacket,pulling out a small red disc that resembled a five-pronged star. It was much…smaller than her usual creations. But really,it was Yumi-chan’s work. And now she’d added to it. Just like their love added to each other.

 

Taking a step forward,she placed it before the gravestone,making sure the right end was facing up. With a flick of her finger,she turned on the timed fuse,before standing with her sisters again.

 

Five,four,three,two,one.

 

With a shriek,five explosive charges shot through the air.

 

One,two,three,four,five.

 

They exploded deafeningly,combining into a star shape that lit up the night sky (and probably set off a few alarms too).

 

Maybe it was a little too loud. Maybe it burned a little too bright.

 

But right now,just for a few seconds,the culmination of their love burned blindingly in Hanabi’s eyes,and thundered furiously in her ears.

 

And maybe,right at this moment,that was all she could ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> In the Senran Kagura series,the Kagura Millennium Festival is a rare (but not neccessarily millenial) event that takes place on a mysterious island,where previously deceased shinobi come back to life and can reunite with their living loved ones if they can make the journey to said island.
> 
> In Rainbow Six Siege,the X-KAIROS is Hibana's unique piece of equipment resembling a star-shaped firework,that can be used for breaching and demolition.


End file.
